Service providers offer an array of applications and services relating to entertainment and business. As the advancement of broadband technologies continue, the rate and sophistication of these applications and services will undoubtedly increase. A key element in the successful implementation of these applications and services involves the proper and efficient management of the underlying data. Additionally, data security must be ensured. Data centers have emerged to address the growing data storage need in view of these concerns. However, such data center solutions are expensive. Also, scalability can be problematic due, in part, to physical constraints of the facilities, etc. Furthermore, for service providers, investment in infrastructure imposes a heavy cost; and thus, maximizing use of the resources of the current infrastructure is necessary to recoup the investment.
Therefore, there is a need for an approach to more efficiently and economically provide a storage system that leverages existing resources and is scalable.